Forever and A Day
by TwilightsKitsune
Summary: She's running from eight years of solitude and torture. Orochimaru wants her talent and strength. Sasuke has noticed how she ignores him, and now he's a bit more than interested in her. Pairings: Sasuke X OC, NaruHina, ShikaTem, NejiTen, KakaAnko
1. The Bitter Calm Before the Storm

_A soft pant was all that betrayed the girl's fleeing footsteps. She was running away from eight years of torture, solitude, and pain. She's a girl on a mission, and determined to get to the end. Panting, she increased her speed, swerving to shake off any pursuers. Soon her frantic running was down to a slow, ground covering jog. Stopping at a clear mountain stream, she paused to drink. Her head flew up when she heard people talking, her stance wary. Curious, she crept forward, hoping to get a good look at the ninja who were nearby. She could tell they were ninja, from the plans they were making. _

"_Why can't we just head back to Leaf and get our next mission from Lord Hokage?" A young male voice said. The girl shook long, unkempt black hair off her ears and kept listening. There were sounds of a scuffle, a loud yelp and an exasperated sigh._

"_Look, Naruto…I intend to give you some survival training in these woods, seeing how they are unfamiliar to the three of you." Another voice said. The voice was rather low, with a quiet drone to it._

"_Naruto, let's just do the training, the sooner it's over, the sooner we can go." Another male voice growled. Shifting slightly, the hiding girl got a glimpse of the people she was listening to. A moody looking boy with black hair was leaning against a tree, idly tossing a kunai into the air. Sitting next to him was a disgruntled blonde boy, his blue eyes narrowed as he glaring into the standing boy's black eyes. Three marks that looked oddly like whiskers were on both sides of his face. A pink haired girl was packing up her belongings, green eyes intent on her work. A tall man with silvery gray hair, wearing a mask and had his headband tilted to cover his left eye was standing in front of the three kids; his visible eye was lazy and bored looking. He was wearing the outfit of a Jonin. The girl sighed and decided to stop hiding and just be captured by who-ever-those-four-are. Grumbling to herself, she stepped out of the bushes, startling the ninja in front of her. All had drawn kunai and the blonde threw one, the girl didn't even blink as it struck her shoulder, tearing the thin shirt she wore. She only blinked at the line of blood pouring down her shoulder. The man in the Jonin vest looked at the sickeningly thin girl standing before them. She looked like she was going to collapse at any second. Her eyes seemed to flicker a blood red with black markings in them. The black haired boy saw this and stiffened, looking at the new arrival with calculating eyes. _

"_Who are you? What do you want?" The Jonin asked, warily placing himself between the girl and his students. She sighed and her knees gave out. Falling heavily onto the ground, she fought to sit upright. _

"_My name is Crystal. As to want I want, I just want to get away from the dungeon that I've been in for eight years and find a safe place to finish my ninja training." Crystal sighed, her hair blown back by the wind that had been steadily picking up. The sky had taken in an ill humor; dark clouds were obscuring the warm sunlight. The three ninja behind the Jonin glanced up. _

"_Kakashi-sensei, should we begin to head back to Leaf?" The girl with pink hair said, green eyes worried. The silver haired man paused for a second._

"_Yea, we should. And Crystal will be coming with us. Sasuke, Naruto do you guys have your stuff ready?" The said boys nodded and shouldered their packs. The pink haired girl walked over to Crystal and held out her hand. _

"_Need help getting up? My name's Sakura." She said as she helped pull the other girl up. Crystal nodded and followed the guys silently. She glared at her legs when they started shaking and kept walking. Naruto and Sasuke were fighting as they walked, Sakura would look at them and mutter to herself. Kakashi was keeping a watchful eye on all four of the kids as they walked. Naruto finally fell silent; Sasuke was being Sasuke, Sakura a thoughtful look on her face. The newcomer had her eyes on the ground and she stumbled more than once on the uneven turf. A loud thunderclap sounded suddenly, startling the group. Naruto grumbled, Sasuke looked darker than usual, Sakura seemed scared. Only Crystal looked as though she could care less if it rained or not. Kakashi looked up and frowned. The sky was darkening steadily and they still had two hours before they would reach Leaf Village. Crystal's head suddenly flew up, her eyes wide and scared. She alone felt the dark chakra that was tracking her down, the chakra of a man who would do anything to reach his goals. She whimpered quietly as Sasuke's eyes narrowed, Sakura gasped, Naruto growled, and Kakashi's visible face went pale._

_It's him…That guy, what does he want with Sasuke? Or does he want the girl?_ Kakashi thought as he stopped his group.

"Guys, we need to run now. Use chakra and run through the treetops. Let's go!" All of the ninja jumped into the trees and began leaping through the branches. Naruto and Sakura were in front, Sasuke behind them, Crystal was panting quietly as she tried to keep up with the others. Kakashi was at the back, thinking quietly. Crystal slipped on a branch and vanished in midair. She reappeared on the next branch, eyes wide, and face pale. 

_I can't keep this up for much longer…If I try to, I'll fall out of the trees… But I cannot allow myself to look weak in front of these guys…_ She thought as she forced herself to go on. After another ten minutes of this forced travel, Crystal fainted. Kakashi was too far behind to catch her; Naruto and Sakura were in front and did not even know that the girl had fainted. Sasuke heard her footsteps falter. Kakashi's eye went wide as he wondered to himself. 

_I thought that Uchiha Sasuke would never show compassion for someone in front of the others…_ Sasuke had flipped over backwards and caught Crystal before anything terrible had the option to happen. He kept jumping as though carrying an unconscious girl in his arms was normal. Kakashi sighed in relief, causing Naruto to look back. When he saw the usually uncaring Sasuke, a small smile popped onto his face and he quickly turned around before Sasuke could see him. A fast, light rain began to fall as they reached the familiar woods of the Hidden Leaf Village. A smile was on Naruto's face as the group stopped at the gate to be let in. Kakashi tapped Sasuke's shoulder as they walked in.

"We have to take her to Lord Hokage, now." Kakashi said voice grave Sasuke merely nodded and shifted the girl in his arms. She was now sleeping and squeaked when he moved her, curled into him even more. Sasuke scowled and said nothing, just followed his teacher as he walked toward Hokage Tower. Lightning flared across the sky as the three walked into the building. Kakashi grimaced then knocked on the Hokage's door.

"Enter." A low voice said, waking Crystal. She blinked blearily in the light. Kakashi sighed before speaking.

"It is Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha, We are bringing a girl that we found while returning from our last mission. She wears no headband, but is a ninja." He said. Crystal suddenly realized that she was being held by a boy and turned red, saying quietly, "I can stand on my own." Sasuke looked down at her, a slightly annoyed look in his eyes, and he grumbled, "Better not take any chances of you falling down." She nodded, when it hit her.__

_His last name is Uchiha? How is that possible…When I was being tortured that day, I heard the entire clan was killed…_She mused to herself, frowning slightly, then staring as the door in front of them flew open and they were beckoned__in. Sitting behind a simple wooden desk was the Hokage. His hair was hidden under the Hokage hat and he had sharp, calculating eyes, and looked to be in his sixties or better. He put aside the papers he had been reading as the group came in, meeting Crystal's eyes. The black haired girl was shocked as the Hokage broke the Genjutsu Crystal had been using to change her eyes from the Byakyugan. Lord Hokage's eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly seeing that there was a lot more to this kid than met the eye. 

"Sasuke, you can set her down in the chair next to the window." The Hokage said quietly. Kakashi was staring into space, and was brought back to reality by the village leader.

"Where did you find her?"

"She found us. She was running away from Sound Village's direction, but she has no headband to prove she is from any village. She said she was running away from torture and a dungeon." The ninja replied. Lord Hokage looked disturbed as he mentioned Sound Village. Sasuke was leaning against the door, his hands inside his pockets, looking rather bored. Lord Hokage turned to Crystal and began to question her.

"Please state your full name, village, age, and birthday." Crystal's eyes took on a terrified cast as she began to talk.

"My name is Crystal Hyuga. I'm from Leaf, sixteen years old, and my birthday is November twenty-first." The Hokage's eyes had widened slightly when he heard the girl's name, but then narrowed suspiciously. 

"You were leaving Sound Village, how can you be from Leaf? I have heard of no one with that name in this village."

"Of course you don't… I've only been missing for eight years. My profile went on Missing-nin, for three years, and then they changed it to dead. So I'm practically a supposedly dead Shinobi walking around again. Check the old records if you don't believe me. I'm listed in the Hyuga Clan." Crystal said lightly, trying to look as though the talk was nothing to worry about and something she went through quite regularly. Lord Hokage thought for a minute then began shuffling through the piles of paper in a drawer. After a minute or so, he pulled two sheets of paper out. Reading them over, Lord Hokage frowned slightly.

"Okay, your name is listed, the date you went missing, your ninja rank at that time, and when they said you were dead. What bothers me is the fact that your skills are not listed, nor the missions you had gone on." The Hokage said. Crystal sighed and closed her eyes; she had nothing more to say. Crystal knew that her old teacher probably tore out her records when she had been missing. The Hokage muttered darkly to himself and rubbed his forehead, feeling an impending headache.

"I'll have to look in this a little more. For now you may stay in the village, evidence proves everything you have told us so far as true. You shall stay with Hinata Hyuga until we can settle something else out. Kakashi, you know where Hinata stays, correct? " Kakashi nodded, he already knew he was going to have to show Crystal the way. Lord Hokage smiled slightly and waved them out of his office. Once out, Sasuke turned and started walking for home, hurrying because the rain was coming down harder than ever. Kakashi took the now silent Crystal down the road to Hinata's house. Once there, he knocked lightly. Hinata opened the door with e quiet," Hello." Smiling Kakashi replied, "Hello Hinata, would it be ok if Crystal was to stay here until the Hokage can get her settled elsewhere?" Hinata nodded and stepped aside to let Crystal inside. 

"See you around Hinata."

"Goodbye." Turning around, Hinata found the new girl was watching her with the same silvery lavender eyes that somehow had no pupils. Hinata's eyes widened at the sight.

"You're a Hyuga?" She said, not stuttering for once. Crystal closed her eyes, Hinata looked confused, and Crystal smiled.

"I am. My name is Crystal." She said, smiling gently. Hinata paused a minute, then smiled in return.

"Lets get you settled in, and then we can do something to pass the rest of this rainy day…I wish it wasn't raining, I had to listen to Kiba complain for most of the walk home!"

"Who's Kiba?"

"He's my teammate. His family raises tracker dogs, and he was complaining about the rain making it impossible to do anything."

"I see…"

The two girls spent the rest of the day talking, and getting to know each other. Crystal was learning more and more about how much her village had changed since she had gone missing. Soon the sun was going down, but no one could tell due to the billowing black clouds that were moving in. At nine, Hinata and Crystal were working together on their dinner. After they had eaten, Hinata helped Crystal to set up her bed, then after they had said goodnight, silence covered the house and the village. 

Outside the village gates, two people stood, watching the guards pacing on their cold, wet, lonely vigils. Standing there, his black mane of hair whipping around due to the winds was one of the most dangerous ninja. He narrowed his yellow eyes with their peculiar purple markings around them, growling quietly. His assistant watched soundlessly as the guards switched shifts, occasional lightning flashes illuminating his glasses and the black eyes behind them, silver hair tied back into a ponytail. 

"Is it time, Lord Orochimaru?" He said voice was emotionless and dark. The once revered Snake Sannin stretched against a lightning flash the illuminated him from behind, casting an eerie shadow on his white face, mouth twisted in an unpleasant, evil smirk as a cold, darkly evil chuckle escaped him.

"Yess Kabuto. It iss time." He said, his voice was quiet, a silvery hiss that would cause a shiver to run down most ordinary ninja's spines. But not Kabuto or his followers, they were used to his hissing voice, terrible in his fury, chilling even when he was happy. A smirk twisted Kabuto's face.

"I have some very interesting news on that girl who escaped earlier." Kabuto said.

"Really? What did you discover?"

"She's of the Hyuga lineage, according to what I've overheard, she was born a full Hyuga. " Kabuto said a small note of triumph in his voice. A drawn out hiss was the Sannin's only reply. His yellow, snake eyes were narrowed. 

_Hyuga, eh? Yesss. She will do nicely for my plan, but I am not ready yet. In a month perhaps, but not now…Sleep in a peace that will not last Leaf Village. By not preparing for war, keeping the ninja prepared, you have signed the contract of your own destruction!_

"Let us return home, Kabuto. We have much planning to do." Orochimaru growled, motioning in the vague direction of the Village Hidden in Sound. Kabuto nodded, and both of them vanished, disappearing as a forgotten nightmare, while it may seem to be gone, it will return to force fear into a ninja's eyes, panic in their senses, horror and dread in the heart, all the emotions that will end lives in a bloody war where screams tear through the air. Both clear and crimson tears fall like rain, and signal the end of an entire village's dreams.


	2. Could This Be?

_-...- sound effects'...' Inner selves/ demons speaking mentally"..." normal talk... character (like Sasuke) repling to inner self/demon_

_A few weeks later Crystal was talking with all of Leaf's teaching Jonin. The teachers couldn't look more different. Kakashi was there, standing next to a tall guy with shiny black hair in a bowl cut, green spandex, headband tied around his waist, and super bushy eyebrows who introduced himself as Gai-sensei. Another man was staring into space, a cigarette in his hand; he had dark brown hair and a slight beard, his name was Asuma-sensei. Leaning against a tree was the only woman present. She had dark brown (almost black) hair, red eyes, and did not wear a Jonin outfit. She introduced herself to be Kurenai-sensei. Crystal mentally sighed and began speaking._

"_Lord Hokage told me that while my main teacher would be Kakashi-sensei, I am to take a day of the week to train with each of you. He said that would be the best way to develop my skills, seeing as I am strong in every point on the web." She said, noticing that some of the male Genin were staring at her; Sasuke oddly enough was as well. Crystal had learned that Sasuke was very standoffish with most and only seemed to talk to his teacher or Naruto. The only reason Sasuke talked to any girl was usually to discourage their embarrassing shows of how much they liked him._

_… I really wish he would stop staring…I wish they'd ALL stop staring… Crystal's thought betrayed nothing on her face; she looked like she was only talking to a family member and not teachers while being stared at. She quietly sighed as each Jonin smiled at her and said that they would be happy to teach her. After that came the team introductions. Each student would have to talk about themselves._

"_My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, and training. I hate people who downgrade others. My dream is to become the Hokage!"_

"_I'm Sakura Haruno. I like flowers… And … -blush- …I dislike Naruto's pranks, and my dream for the future is to become a Medic-nin."_

"_My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like very much and hate a lot, fan girls ranking at the very top. I don't have a dream, but a determination. I intend to avenge my clan by killing a certain man and also revive my clan."_

_Kakashi rolled his eye after the black haired teen spoke, being careful to not be noticed by Sasuke. Crystal smiled faintly as Gai's team started talking._

"_My name is Rock Lee! I like...SAKURA. My dream is to prove that someone who cannot use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu can still become a splendid ninja!" A boy with very shiny black hair in a bowl cut, bushy eyebrows, and wearing green spandex announced happily, beaming smiles at every opportunity. Next a girl with brown hair tied up into two buns, wearing a pink top and black shorts spoke._

"_I am TenTen. I like to practice with my throwing weapons, and I don't like watching overly emotional moments that occur in training…"_

"_My name…Neji Hyuga. I don't like talking. I like training. My dream is to never be defeated by anyone outside this village." A boy with silvery lavender eyes, brown hair, and an emotionless face said. Gai smiled and Lee started yelling something about the 'power of youth.' The next to speak was a lazy looking boy who had his eyes closed, and his dark brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail._

"_I'm Shikamaru Nara. I think training is a drag, and I like to play Shogi and Go." "My name is Ino Yamanaka. I like…SASUKE!" A blonde girl with blue-green eyes squealed while Sasuke death glared her. The last to speak from that team was a pleasantly plump boy with brown hair and a bag of chips._

"_I'm Choji Akimichi. -crunch- I like food, and hate -crunch- training." He said, eating his chips the entire time. Now only one team was left and the wild one of the group opened things._

"_I'm Kiba Inuzuka and this is Akamaru."_

"_Woof!!" _

"_I like playing with Akamaru and training." A boy with two red triangles on his face, messy brown hair, and animal-like eyes said, petting the little white dog, Akamaru. The boy sitting next to him shifted and spoke his voice creepy and deep._

"_Shino Aburame. I like bugs." He said, adjusting the black sunglasses he wore, his brown hair rather frizzy looking. Hinata was the last to speak, and she smiled at Crystal as she began._

"_Hinata Hyuga. I want to become a Medic-nin and fix the rift in the Hyuga family." Crystal smiled, thinking darkly all the while. _

_My name is going to cause a slight eruption between the Hyuga and Uchiha boys…This is not good… Ignoring her warring thoughts, she spoke anyway._

"_I am Crystal Hyuga." Neji blinked calmly as Sasuke's eyes narrowed, before the boys resorted to glaring at each other; Sasuke trying to hide his confusion and annoyance. "I like running and gardening as well as animals." Kiba smiled as Akamaru rolled around his feet."My dream is to help with the family issues of the Hyuga." _

_She finished, looking at the ground when she realized that everyone was staring at her. Lee was quivering in anticipation; he was waiting for the chance to challenge Crystal, to see if he could beat a new Hyuga. Soon after the introductions were done, teachers and students went their own ways. _

_Crystal went to the hot springs where Master Ebisu was impatiently having a war with an older man. He wore his headband over his entire head, wore dark shades over his eyes, a lot like Shino, and spoke in a cocky, superiorly irritating voice. He was arguing with an older man who wore an odd headband that had the kanji for oil on it. His long white hair hung down past his rear and he wore wooden clog like sandals. A large frog was sitting by the white haired man, and then vanished in an explosion of smoke. Immediately after the frog left, the man vanished in the same manner. Turning, Ebisu saw Crystal standing by the fence, waiting for the fight to end._

"_Now then, let us begin. I want you to walk on water." _

_"Why? I didn't think I was placed under your teaching." Crystal sighed. Ebisu's eyes twitched._

_"I do not care. You will do as I say." Crystal sighed. Better to comply than fight..._

_An hour later Crystal was walking towards the Noodle Shop, when she suddenly felt an aura of evil along with an immense chakra. The spy smiled to himself, plans already coming together. _

_She shows more promise than she did as a child. And to think she's been out of action for eight years…It will be fun to watch her eyes turn to despair as her life fades away…Unless she too can get it and use it well… Without a whisper of noise, the chakra and aura vanished. Crystal's eyes narrowed as she remembered the owner of that aura and chakra. So…He really is after me…I'll never die by his hands, nor the other one's…I will destroy them both. She thought darkly and returned to reality with a jolt. Sasuke and Naruto had been walking to the Noodle Shop as well, they had just finished a practice battle and Naruto asked Sasuke to go with him. Sasuke had been looking at Naruto after the blonde had said something incredibly intelligent, and walked straight into Crystal. Both fell straight onto their backsides, Sasuke with a curse, Crystal merely yelped and groaned when she realized that she had fallen into a muddy spot on the road. Naruto looked down at his friend with an annoyed expression on his face._

"_Geez Sasuke…You knock a girl over, I didn't think you hated them THAT much!"_

"_Naruto…Just shut up for once in your life, be quiet." The raven haired boy growled as he stood up. Crystal carefully got to her feet, the water walking exercise had drained a lot of her chakra and she didn't feel like using too much energy, seeing as she was moving into her own house that was located next door to Hinata's. Sasuke muttered an apology and turned pale pink. _

_Oh come on…You have got to be kidding me…I cannot be blushing…_

_'But you are.'_

_Who the heck are you and why are you in my head!!_

_'I am you, your inner self. I am here to say things that you won't admit to anyone.'_

_…I have nothing that I hide from the other's, except Itachi's name._

_'You like her. That new girl. I've noticed you staring at her, and I think she did as well.' _

_I do not like her!!_

_'coughdenialcough'_

_….'Am I annoying you?'_

_Yes…._

_'Do you want me to leave?'_

_Yes._

_'Do you like Naruto more than me?'_

_Yes._

_'Do you like the new girl?'_

_YeNOOO!_

_'Haha! You do! You like her; you can't hide it from yourself!!'_

_Sasuke returned to the normal world of cold reality to find that number one, Naruto was staring at him with an eyebrow raised, two Crystal was looking at him funny, and three his face was now dark red. Sasuke twitched so that his bangs obscured his face, leaving Naruto confused and Crystal thinking of all the reasons that could make Sasuke turn that dark of a red. After grappling with her thoughts, as she walked with Naruto and a slightly red in the face Sasuke. There's really no explanation for that…Unless…No way, he can't possibly like me! I've been here for less than a month and have done hardly any training, only tests for Lord Hokage! Giving herself a mental shake, she gave her order to the girl behind the counter, as did her two companions. For a while they ate in silence. Naruto seemed to inhale his ramen; he was halfway done before the other two had even started eating. Crystal shook her head and started to eat, while Sasuke looked at his blonde teammate with raised eyebrows.Doesn't that guy BREATHE?'You're watching Crystal past Naruto, aren't you?'… 'I knew it!'Shut up. Sasuke's new inner self smirked and became silent as he leaned down and began to eat his own food. Crystal had noticed Sasuke's slightly unfocused eyes while she was eating, she saw him from the corner of her eye. Naruto was seemingly oblivious; eating his food like there was no tomorrow. Sasuke turned pink for some unknown reason and shifted so that his bangs covered his face. Crystal fought the urge to raise an eyebrow. Naruto noisily finished his first bowl of ramen, and soon ordered seconds. Sasuke and Crystal only ate one bowl each, and waited quietly while Naruto plowed through four bowls of ramen before saying that he was full._

_Geez…That guy eats that much, yet isn't overweight…Maybe he just trains a lot once he gets home…No way to tell so no trouble there I suppose._

_'So…You gonna tell her?'_

_Huh…_

_'I said are you gonna tell her?'_

_Tell who what?_

_'Crystal that you like her?'_

_No._

_You're in denial…'_

_No, I am not._

_'You cannot lie to yourself, you do realize that I can hear all your thoughts whether you want me to or not, and I intend to annoy you until you stop thinking that killing your brother is the only reason for which you live. Do you not remember your vow to revive your clan? Or do you intend to just forget that bit of your dream, or what ever the heck it is that you call it? Do you intend to try to ignore everyone who has even the slightest bit of understanding as to how you feel, or are you just plain determined to allow no one in and slowly kill yourself through self-pity and hatred?'_

_……….You talk too much._

_'You don't talk enough.'_

_Be it as that may, I don't intend to change how I see the world. I MUST kill him to avenge my family…As for the other part of my plan, I don't think so. Too many bad run ins with fan club…That and I happen to have a perverted sensei, and the perverted sage is in this village…_

_'At least you stopped denying the facts. You need to realize that revenge is not the answer. You have much better things to do than just waste time and effort chasing after him. Learn to live a little bit. Have fun for once, laugh, smile, joke around, you remember how.'_

_I don't feel like exerting the force needed to do that. I do not want to try to do anything with anyone. I find company trying. Not to mention annoying, like Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, or Choji._

_'You will find it impossible to live without someone there to support you.'Sasuke frowned to himself, as Naruto paid and jumped up. Naruto then said something about training and Crystal could come if she wanted to. She thought on it for a little while, stretching, and then wincing as her tired body told her it wanted to sleep. _

"_You guys go ahead. I'm wiped out… However, I will train with you tomorrow if you would like." Crystal murmured politely. Naruto nodded happily, yanking Sasuke's arm when the other boy seemed to have gotten lost in his little world of ignoring everybody. Sasuke frowned at Naruto and tugged his arm back; following the blonde as thought they both were merely heading the same direction. Crystal yawned behind her upraised hand, and slowly started walking to her new apartment. Walking in the door, she groaned upon remembering that she had to unpack and organize everything before she would have a place to flop down. Pushing her black hair out of her face, she sighed and set to work. First she set about dragging the furniture to how she wanted it set up. When she finished the room was set up with the couch opposite the single window, two chairs on either side of the couch, with a long wood table in front of all three. Beside the window went the framed picture of her family, her Hyuga symbols, and a small mirror. In front of the door she stuck her welcome mat. Her bedroom had the bed by the far wall, nightstand opposite it, a small bedside table, and her desk was to the right when one came in the door. To the left was her bathroom. After another half hour placing food, cleaning supplies, medical stuff, bath things, and her clothes away, Crystal whimpered in pain. She dragged her bed sheets and other stuff onto her bed and collapsed after she finished making the bed and fell asleep without realizing that she had._


	3. It's the Training!

_-...- sound effects'...' Inner selves/ demons speaking mentally"..." normal talk... character (like Sasuke) repling to inner self/demon_

_Sasuke and Naruto were bickering over who had gotten the closest to the center of the kunai target. Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored his friend's bickering. Finally, Naruto seemed to realize that Sasuke was no longer interested in arguing. A kunai flew suddenly from a nearby tree and thudded into the very center of the target, right in between the two kunai from Sasuke and Naruto._

"_What the!?" Naruto yelped as another kunai whizzed by his face, missing him by a tiny margin. Sasuke's eyes widened as a third kunai flew past him as well. Naruto glared around himself in confusion, he could not feel the presence of a ninja. Sasuke's eyes turned a brilliant red with three comma-like markings within. Scanning the surrounding forest with his red eyes, he thought he saw something that looked human, but it was gone the next second. Startled by a thud, the two boys spun around with an oath. A black wolf stalked out of the trees, blue eyes dancing with laughter at the two humans standing stock-still. Sitting down, the wolf cocked her head to one side, tail waving behind her. Out of nowhere, a thick mist swirled in, obscuring the wolf. The mist was blown away by a breeze and nothing was there. Naruto looked at Sasuke with a dumbstruck expression. Sasuke shrugged, and then froze as he caught sight of Sakura heading his way. Naruto saw the stony frown on his friend's face and knew that someone was coming. Sakura saw the expression on Sasuke's face and stalked away, frowning slightly herself. A loud thud and a fourth kunai embedding itself into the practice target caused Naruto and Sasuke to spin around in surprise. Leaning against the tree behind them stood the new girl, her black hair tied back into a ponytail. Her eyes were closed, and she had a small smirk on her face._

"_Were you the one throwing the kunai?" Naruto said, sounding like he had swallowed something large. Crystal opened her eyes; they were their normal black, and nodded. Naruto looked extremely dismayed._

"_How much training have you done to get that good?" Naruto muttered._

"_I've been practicing for an hour."_

_Naruto's jaw about hit the ground in shock. Sasuke's eyes went wide and his mouth was slightly open. Looking at her astounded companions, Crystal sighed. She then stretched and bent over far enough to place her hands of the ground behind her. Laughing at the upside down expressions of the two ninja, she flipped her legs over herself and stood up. Raising an eyebrow at the laughing expression on her face, Sasuke walked up a tree trunk and sat down on one of the limbs, staring at something Naruto and Crystal couldn't see. Crystal fought to keep a normal expression as a group of girls walked by. One of them happened to glance over and see the dark haired girl. The kunochi behind leaned forward to mutter something and the group snickered. Crystal sighed and vanished in a swirling bunch of leaves, only to reappear next to the girls._

"_May I help you?" Crystal said politely, smiling a little. The girls stared at her for a second as though they were confused. After a slightly awkward silence, they walked away without answering; sneering at the newest Gennin to the village. Crystal dropped her smile and returned to the normal expressionless face she used around other ninja. Naruto frowned when he saw the drastic change of expression on the girl's face; Sasuke was even surprised that a girl could have such a cold and uncaring expression. _

_I thought Neji and I were emotionally concealing, but this girl is just plain shocking… _

_A sudden explosion of gray smoke heralded the arrival of the Village's teaching Jonin. Sasuke now looked slightly annoyed, Naruto was standing there with his mouth slightly open. Crystal didn't even twitch as the teachers appeared. Kakashi noticed the cold expression on the girl's face and mentally sighed. _

_Looks like we've got another Sasuke on our hands… _

_Gai exploded into a rant about the power of youth, and Asuma interrupted the Taijutsu _

_master. _

"_He's ranting about your training." He said and Gai sighed. _

_ 4 Hours Later _

_Sasuke and Naruto had been watching Crystal getting tested by each of the Jonin in turn and what they had seen astounded them. Kakashi hadn't been able to read his book when they fought, nor had he been able to confuse the girl. Gai had not landed a single hit upon her, she did manage to hit him three times, Asuma looked shocked when he was forced to use his special weapons and she still did not get hurt. Kurenai's Genjutsu did not even seem to affect the black haired girl, in fact she dispelled all of them. And even after the hour long battles with all four teachers in a row, no breaks in between, Crystal was still breathing pretty normally. The Jonin all moved a small distance away from the three teenagers to talk. Sasuke's eyes were wide in shock and Naruto shakily asked the girl a question._

"_Did you use your bloodline abilities during those?" A small smirk appeared her face as she shook her head. Naruto fell over backwards and Sasuke's inner self decided to bother him again. _

_'Just what you've been looking for. A girl who isn't all over you and one who can hold her own against Jonin!'_

_Why must you keep bothering me with stupid comments that are not even correct…'You can't keep denying the truth. You know I'm right.'_

_You're wrong. I am not interested in ANY girl, no matter who good of a fighter she is. _

_'You are going to give up on the other part of your goal? Restoring the Uchiha clan? You're willing to allow it just fade into the background and allow the Hyuga Clan to become the most powerful in Leaf? I know how you hate Neji, and he's part of that clan.'_

_… You really get on my nerves, you know that?_

_'You're getting on your own nerves, dolt, I am you.'_

_Sasuke let out a silent sigh and glanced around at the ninjas. The teachers had just started walking towards them, when their respective teams burst into the training grounds. Ino and Sakura made a beeline for Sasuke who scowled and jumped into a tree. That caused Ino and Sakura to launch into a catfight, Shikamaru and Choji looked at Ino, then each other and rolled their eyes. Naruto sighed and shook his head as Lee, Neji, and TenTen sat down next to each other. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino stood together, Hinata standing slightly behind the boys, looking at her hands. Crystal sighed and leaned against a tree trunk as the Jonin stopped in front of them all. Kakashi smiled and stepped forward to address the newest girl. _

"_Crystal, your fighting skills are very impressive for a ninja your age. We had decided that instead of you studying with Ebisu, seeing how he thinks he's gonna teach you, you will join into a four-man team under Gai. Though for you registration, you are on my team and you will undertake the Chunnin Exams with my squad. There will be certain days, however, when any of the remaining teacher may want you to train with thier teams. Iruka was watching you fight and said that you're a Genin, maybe even Chunin level, or higher." Kakashi said and smiled kindly at Crystal, who modestly inclined her head and smiled slightly. Lee looked like he was about to burst from the news of having the newest ninja getting put onto his team. Crystal slowly walked over to her new team and sat down beside Lee instead of sitting on the far edge, Neji was glaring furiously at her. Sasuke was still sitting up in the tree, but he almost could not hide the flicker of disappointment that Crystal was not put in Cell 7 with them and that she'd mostly be with Gai's team. Naruto sighed and Sakura and Ino finally stopped fighting and sat with their respective teams, although the girls kept glaring at each other. Sasuke slipped off the tree branch and landed quietly next to Naruto as Kakashi sighed. All of the Jonin walked over to their teams to tell them that they would all be taking part in the Chunin Exams and hand out application forms. The Jonin left their charges to go home, train, or do whatever and make up their minds on whether they were going to take part in the Exams or not. All of the Genin split off in different directions to think everything over. By lunchtime, several had decided to take part and the others were training, relaxing, eating, or just talking to friends and family. Crystal was sitting in her bedroom, staring at the form with warring thoughts. _

_You know your brother would have wanted you to do this and you want the chance to prove yourself…_

_Crystal sighed and decided that she'd go with what she knew her brother would be happy about. She filled the form in and stalked outside with newfound determination and purpose. Brother, I will follow in your footsteps and even though you aren't with me anymore, I know you're still looking out for me. I hope I can make you proud of me. She thought to herself, silent tears dripping from her face as she strode swiftly to the training grounds. Once there, Crystal busied herself with target practice and throwing multiple weapons in different directions and still have them hit their marks. Soon the sky was getting dark with storm clouds and the setting sun, and Crystal realized how soon winter was. She sighed and thanked the Gods that she had managed to escape when it was still warm outside and not freezing, even if it did rarely snow. Soon rain was falling, and while most ninja went running for home, on lone girl was standing with her face to Natures fury, allowing herself to be hit with the full force. She had her closed eyes skyward, her mouth opened in a silent challenge to the wild elements. Soon she was soaking wet, and still showed no desire to go inside for shelter, instead she sat down upon a dripping bench and shook her hair off her face. The cold wind and rain felt good to her, it reminded her of all the times that she and her brother used to chase each other in storms like this, running for shelter only if thunder growled like a wildcat or if lightning split the sky like a glowing sword. Crystal opened her eyes and looked around the rain soaked village, feeling the still warm air under the coldness of the wind and rain. She felt a true smile creep over her face, the first real smile she had worn in over eight years. It felt good to let to rain wash away all her trouble, worries, and memories. She finally stood and regretfully made her way home, passing by Sasuke's house unintentionally. He had been looking outside, watching the rain fall, when he noticed the lone figure of someone walking by. He narrowed his eyes to see through the water droplets and fog on the glass, trying to identify the ninja. He sighed, making the glass fog up even more as he realized it was Crystal who was walking past. Why is she out so late, in the pouring rain no less?! A sudden, loud boom of thunder echoed over the village and lightning cleaved a glowing path through the sky. In the daylight brightness of the lightning, Sasuke saw the girl freeze, then bolt for home, which he suddenly realized was next door to his own, and connect to his by a porch. Crystal's home also was connected to Hinata's with the same long, railed porch. Sasuke shook his head at that thought. _

_Why would I care if her house is next door, or that the porch connects us? Must be the weather…_

_He silently thought to himself, walking into his bedroom and looking around. Everything was black, from the bedcovers, to the furniture. The walls were painted with a rearing black dragon spitting a tongue of flame at a snarling gray dragon that had frost swirling around it's paws, and the ground under it was frozen. The rest of the walls bore different depictions of the same two dragons, circling in the sky, playing together as hatchlings, stalking prey together, and then fighting each other. Sasuke grimly looked at the painted dragons, realizing how alike the scenes were to those of his own life. _

_The fighting dragons seem to show what is set in my future, when I finally find Itachi. He angrily thought to himself. _

_Crystal was in her shower when two silken gray wolf ears and a tail appeared on her body. She closed her eyes for a minute then sighed. She had forgotten that she had a demon that sometimes appeared. _

_So you finally woke up?_

_'Yes.' The reply was a feminine growling voice, one that rang with sorrow, loneliness, and pain._

_I have also woken, youngster. This was a deep, snarling voice of fire. The first voice belonged to the Four Tailed Wolf Demon, her name was Graystar. She had gotten her name from her sleek gray fur, and the single black star on her chest. The voice of fire was a dragon, her name was Brokenfang, due to the fact that one of her long, white canine teeth was broken in half. Crystal knew that there were lesser demons than the Tailed ones, but she'd give anything to know who Brokenfang got in her soul. Both demons' voice tones made them sound vicious all the time, but they were kind, happy, even playful, unless their lives and Crystal's was at stake. The kunochi smiled at them and carefully stepped out of the shower, trying not to slip on the tile floor. Quickly drying herself and changing into her sleeping clothes, Crystal yawned and sat on the edge of her bed, thinking over all that had happened to her in the past weeks. _

_Standing in the trees were two ninja. Orochimaru smiled and Kabuto smirked slightly. "She's been here for a month, Lord Orochimaru. What is it that you are planning to do?" Kabuto asked, barely masking the curiosity in his voice. Orochimaru glanced out of the side of his eye, giving the silver haired boy beside him a calculating look before answering in a quiet hiss._

"_Seeing what she can survive." He hissed and masked his chakra and vanished. Kabuto's eyes went wide in silent sympathy for the ninja who caught his master's eye. _

_I feel sorry for you, and all of the other unlucky ones to have caught his eye… We all stood out too much. Kabuto said to himself, images of unconscious Sasuke, Kimimaro, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakkon and his brother Ukkon, Jirojibu; then the terrified faes of Dosu, Kin, Zaku, Yoroi, and Misumi crossing his mind. Indeed, we all stood out too much…_

_Orochimaru appeared inside the kunochi's house, just behind her. He made a hand seal and snaked his neck out, and bit into her neck. She screamed into shock and pain, and as the hated Sannin withdrew his teeth, she shuddered and fell off her bed in a dead faint. Orochimaru coldly laughed, then he and his follower vanished into the night. _

_Sasuke jerked upright in his bed, he could had sworn he had heard someone scream. Throwing aside the covers, he opened the glass door and walked next door. He knew something was wrong, the aura over that house held an ill humor. Hinata joined him in staring at the door before they reached out and opened it. Hinata yelped in shock and Sasuke fell back a step. Crystal had slipped off the end of her bed and was laying facedown on the floor. Sasuke went stiff with anger as he saw the black seal with two small puncture wounds under it. Sasuke shakily breathed in before backing away and motioning for Hinata to do the same. She did and gave him a confused look. Wordlessly, Sasuke lightly tapped his own curse mark before nodding at the motionless girl. Hinata's eyes went wide and she vanished in a small cloud of gray smoke. Sasuke knew she had gone to wake the Third Hokage and tell him what had happened. Sasuke kept himself alert and watchful, he remembered hearing about how the mark had caused him to act. He jumped a foot into the air when Crystal groaned in pain and sat up, shaking her head. He watched in horror as blotchy, swirling flames spread across her face and arms. Suddenly, the flames began to recede, just as the Lord Hokage appeared inside with a sleepy looking Kakashi. Kakashi sighed and looked at the girl who was fighting against the curse mark's power. Something seemed to break and the swirled flames went away entirely. She slowly stood up, her face glistening slightly with a cold sweat. Kakashi wordlessly walked over to her and pulled one of his gloves off. Slitting his palm with a kunai, he wrote seals in blood, then formed hand seals before sealing the evil mark. After explaining how the seal would help deflect the mark's power, Kakashi and the Hokage walked away, muttering to each other._

_Crystal swayed slightly on her feet and sat down on the edge of her bed, bowing her head so that neither of the Genin could see her face. Hinata looked worried, Sasuke looked like he was fighting to either stay where he was or go up to the girl. Eventually, Hinata took a wary step forward and Crystal's head shot up; her eyes wide and feral-looking. As quickly as it had shone up; it vanished and she merely looked tired and scared. Hinata backed away, hoping that she had just imagined the feral glow in the girl's eyes. When Hinata turned around, she noticed that Sasuke was unnaturally pale and he looked as though he wanted to turn around and run out of the room, but his pride would not allow it. _

_'Why are you standing here like a frightened rabbit? Does she scare you that badly?'_

_Didn't you see the look in her eyes a second ago?! She looked like she was gonna kill anything thing that got close enough._

_'You use the same expression to push everyone else away. She's scared and she has no one to help her hold strong. This girl is as lonely as Naruto and as stubborn as you are. I think she wants someone to sit with, only she's too prideful to ask.'_

_Hinata murmured something that neither of the people in the room heard and vanished, leaving Sasuke alone with the panicked, yet calm, girl. He backed up until his back hit the wall and sighed, leaning there._


	4. Trust

-...- sound effects'...' Inner selves/ demons speaking mentally"..." normal talk... character (like Sasuke) repling to inner self/demon

Sasuke stared at the floor for a long moment and Crystal heaved a huge sigh after Hinata left.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke's voiced shook slightly, but he looked perfectly calm as he slowly looked up from the floor. Crystal seemed to stiffen for a second before she replied.

"I guess I'm a little tired, that's all. I wasn't expecting this kind of thing to happen to me…" She muttered quietly. Sasuke glared at the floor and growled under his breath before looking up with hatred and pain in his eyes.

"I know how it feels to have that mark placed upon you, and how it feels forever after." Crystal shivered at the coldness and anger just barely hidden in his voice. She could only stare as he walked over to the bedside, crouched down and pulled the collar of his shirt off his left shoulder. A sharp intake of air was her only reply to the curse seal on his shoulder, the cold blackness of the three comma-like markings showing up sharply against the boy's pale skin.

"I didn't know…How did you get the marking…" Crystal's voice seemed tiny and quiet in the baited silence. Sasuke stepped foreward and sat down on the edge of the bed, next to her."It happened in the last Chunin Exam. I was in the Forest of Death when my team and I were attacked by this weird guy; he was way too powerful to be a Genin. He destroyed our scroll and we had to fight for our lives. Naruto was fighting and that guy caught him with his enormously long tongue and did something that made Naruto pass out. I wasn't myself, before Naruto had showed up; Sakura and I were put into a Genjutsu where we saw our own deaths. I was still numbed by the jutsu. I finally snapped out of it and did my best to show that creep what an Uchiha is made of. I slammed him into the ground, only to find out that it was a clone, I used the Sharingan to try and burn him, and that kind of worked…Then he did some weird jutsu where his neck became insanely long and…He bit me… The last thing I remember was the pain before I passed out. Later on, I found out the name of the one who did this to me, Orochimaru."

Sasuke stared at the wall, his face slightly pink because he was unused to giving such long talks. Crystal had closed her eyes, drinking in the Uchiha's words, but she had gasped in shock when she heard that Orochimaru was the one who placed the cursed marks. Her eyes narrowed as she turned her head to the open window. Two cold eyes seemed to be staring back at her with a condescending tone in them. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to see better, but the cold eyes were gone. Shivering slightly, Crystal turned around to find Sasuke was standing just inside the sliding door with his head slightly cocked to one side. When Crystal was about to ask him what he was doing, he made a sharp gesture with his hand, signaling her to keep silent. What's he up to? What does he hear or see? Sasuke's face darkened for a second then went completely pale. Crystal twitched as he sighed.

"I'm going home." Sasuke muttered and walked out the door before Crystal could say anything. She blinked at the closed door for a moment before slowly stretching out on her bed. A small ripple of pain lanced outward from the mark on her shoulder. Crystal hissed quietly and ignored it. Ten minutes later she had entered the realm where anything could happen.

Kakashi and the Third Lord Hokage were standing on top of the roof of the Hokage Tower. They had been talking about how to best handle the village when the people within learned that Orochimaru had gotten into and harmed another ninja.

"Kakashi, go to bed. I think I have a plan, but I am not certain if it will work as of yet." Sarutobi murmured quietly. The silver haired Jonin nodded and vanished, leaving behind a gentle swirl of leaves. Silently, the Hokage gazed up at the stone faces. Oh how I had hoped I would have lived through my life with no hardship like this. Yondiame, if only things had been different and you were here…

When the sun's first tentative ray pierced the clouds and fell through the blinds on a window, a black haired ninja cursed the bright light. Crystal woke up feeling like she had slept a month; even the cursed mark had stopped burning and remained a cold black. Glaring at her reflection in the mirror, Crystal hunted down her battle gear and outfit. After she had changed, she grabbed a quick breakfast, just and apple and a glass of milk, before hurrying outside. Few common people were out at this hour, and a fair amount of ninja were steadily moving about. As she passed the Ichiraku Noodle Bar, Crystal noticed Sasuke and Naruto talking to each other. What was astounding was the fact that they were not fighting with each other. Shaking her head slightly, she quietly walked past, her eyes on the ground. Since Crystal was walking with her head down, she walked straight into someone. Crystal nearly fell down, but managed to catch herself by flipping over backward. Glancing up, she saw who she had run into.

"Good morning to you too." Neji said quietly, turning around to see who had tried to run him over so early in the morning. When he saw Crystal, he frowned slightly and shook his head.

"What had I done to you to deserve being knocked down, sister?" Neji said, looking away from several people of whom he knew were about to explode.

"WHOA! WAIT A MINUTE! HOLD THE KUNAI! Did you say 'sister'?" Lee bellowed. Neji mutely nodded and turned his back to his excited teammate before anything 'youthful' occurred. Gai silently danced in a circle, tears streaming down his face while Neji, TenTen, Crystal, Shikamaru, and Hinata all looked at each other, rolling their eyes. Lee was standing stock still, his eyes closed and a huge smirk on his face before he exploded.

"CRYSTAL! FIGHT ME! HERE AND NOW!"

Crystal twitched and blinked at Lee before heaving a sigh. Kakashi and the other sensei were watching the Genin closely, smiling slightly.

"Fine…" Crystal muttered, quiet enough that several people wondered if she had even answered. Lee threw a punch in to the air and then struck his fighting pose. Crystal closed her eyes and sunk slowly into the crouch that marked the Hyuga clan.

Unknown to any of the ninja present, Hiashi had noticed the small crowd and walked quietly to the side to watch his brother's daughter fight, and to see if his decision of placing the Caged Bird Seal on her was as bad of an idea as it was for Neji.

Without moving a muscle or making even the tiniest noise, the combatants sized the other up. Lee was carefully evaluating Crystal for weak points, while she was merely waiting for him to make a move. Suddenly, Lee vanished, Sasuke twitched and his eyes narrowed slightly. That's the Primary Lotus, the same trick he pulled on me the first time I fought him…But I thought Gai-sensei had told Lee not use it unless it was a last resort… Crystal saw Lee vanish and she remained still, looking as though she had no clue what was happening. Perhaps I was wrong in her being like Neji. Hiashi thought to himself. Or maybe I was right… He had to correct himself after seeing something that had never happened before. When Lee had appeared again, ready to launch the powerful kick that would send Crystal into the air, she had spun quickly to the side and caught Lee's foot. Lee paled, never before had someone been able to stop his secret technique. However, he wasted no time thinking about that, he swept his other leg along the ground, sweeping Crystal's feet out from under her. She let go of him and twisted around so quickly that no one saw what she did and landed on her feet, facing Lee again.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee bellowed. Crystal was only able to block some of his attack, she fell with a thud, the right side of her face had been hit. As soon as she hit the ground, she twisted around into a handstand and then flipped onto her feet again. Nearly half the village had congregated around the original group of ninja, trying to see what all the fuss was about.

"Who does that girl think she is? There's no way a scrawny thing like her could even have half a chance against Rock Lee!" A slightly irritated villager growled. Crystal overheard and her eyes darkened. So I have no chance and now I'm scrawny?! We'll see… Activating her bloodline, Crystal stood calmly as Lee charged at her. When he was within striking distance, Crystal suddenly spun around, emitting chakra from all over her body.

"Rotation!" She snarled. When she spun to a stop, her black hair fanned out and then caught by the wind, she lowered her head slightly and smirked. She knew that this would baffle Neji and any other Hyuga nearby, she had gone missing before any of the kids were taught that technique, and she is a member of the cadet branch so, like Neji, she should not know or be able to perform any of the main branch's signature techniques. Then, grumbling from a pile of dust, Lee stood up, shook himself like a dog and sighed.

"I give up for now, but next time we face off I WILL WIN! I PROMISE YOU!" He bellowed, holding out his hand. Crystal reached forward, as though she was going to shake his hand, and quickly tapped his palm once and withdrawing her hand with a smirk. Neji shook his head as the onlookers laughed and Lee smiled. Everyone knew a friendly rivalry when they saw one, though, looking at Gai and Kakashi, one couldn't be sure what they were… Gai chose that moment to start an argument with Kakashi. The surrounding ninja quickly backed away before things got too 'youthful' and violent.

Crystal looked at the two adults and sighed, Sakura and Naruto looked like they had seen this occur a few too many times. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to find Hiashi staring at her with interested eyes. She slowly turned her head away from him. Great…Just what I needed…HIM getting interested in me…I don't want to have to deal with the clan at the moment…Argh…This is annoying…I really need to get away from my family for once in my life… She then realized that Kurenai was talking to her.

"You'll be training with each of us on a different day of the week, your skills are advanced for your age group…" She frowned slightly, but smiled, then walked away. All of the Genin took this as the signal to be dismissed. Crystal smiled.

"Kurenai-sensei, by age group, do you mean these guys?" She gestured to the leaving Genin, who froze and listened.

"Yes, you are their age, are you not?"

"How old are they?"

"13 - 14 years of age."

"I'm 16." Crystal replied, blinking at the looks she was getting.

"Oh, no wonder you looked older than I took you for!" Gai exclaimed, giving the thumbs up. Neji rolled his eyes; Hinata and he were the only ones, other than Hiashi, who knew Crystal's age. The Genin moved off, shaking their heads. Kurenai's next question and Crystal's reply brought them to a halt.

"What was your old ranking?"

"Chunnin. " Jaws fell all around her. Then she spun on her heel, black hair flying like wings, and walked away.


	5. The Storm Clouds Gather

The next day found Crystal glaring at her sensei. He was standing in front of her with one of the dreaded green spandex outfits. Neji was restraining himself from a twitching eye and TenTen had her face in her hands. Lee was running circles, screaming about the suit of youth.

"Come now, dear girl. This outfit will make you look ever prettier!" Gai exclaimed, trying to force it into Crystal's hands. She growled low in her throat and clenched her fists even tighter. Neji sighed. If he keeps this up…Her temper will blow… He chuckled to himself, remembering how his oldest sibling, Storm, had caused her temper to explode. Then the memory of hearing that Storm had been killed on a mission, and Crystal's pain, and his own. He'd only been 6 years old at the time, Crystal had been 8. Then she went missing the next day. Neji frowned at his hands, wondering why he was thinking so freely.

After all, it was fate that killed Storm and swept Crystal away for all those years. He snarled to himself. Gai tried one last time to get Crystal to take the outfit. Her temper snapped.

"I AM NOT WEARING THE DAMN THING!" She screeched, making TenTen cover her ears, Neji twitch, and Lee fell down in mid run. Gai's eyes were huge, evidently he hadn't expected an outburst like that from such a gentle looking girl. Crystal stood there, fists clenched, glaring for all she was worth. Gai took a step back, coughed, and turned around.

'I think you got the message across.' Brokenfang chortled.

I'll only have gotten it through when he puts that THING away. Crystal snarled in reply, glaring at the suit.

'If you glare any harder, it'll burst into flame…' Brokenfang muttered before becoming silent. Crystal ignored her internal companion and continues to glare, hoping that the stupid outfit would burst into flame so she wouldn't have to look at it anymore. Gai spun around with his usual gusto, the suit managed to vanish somehow.

"Come now, listen to the enlightening words of Master Gai!" Gai bellowed at his team, even though most of them were only a few feet away. Crystal's eye began to twitch, TenTen rolled her eyes, Neji closed his, and Lee came bolting up to stand stock-still with the others.

"Yes Gai-sensei! We are ready to listen to your enlightening words of youth!" Lee screeched happily. TenTen and Crystal glanced at each other and winced, Neji rolled his eyes and closed them again. Gai seemed to swell with happiness.

"Now there's nothing like good ties in a team like this one! We will continues to strengthen these youthful ties. However!" Here his voice became less fooling around, and more down to earth. Crystal unwillingly forced herself to look up at her overly pompous teacher. Gai looked at his group, and blinked. "The Chunnin exams are coming up, very , very soon! And you all will be taking part, if you so choose."

Lee danced in a small circle, too happy for words. TenTen looked amazed; even Neji was interested. Gai's eye rested on Crystal before he continued.

"Crystal, only three-man teams are allowed in the exams…But the proctors have agreed to allow you to enter alone. That is, if you wish it. Right from the start, you will be your own team." Gai said, looking slightly irritated. It's not fair to force her to fight her way through those cursed tests alone… Crystal's eyes darkened with annoyance, then she smiled.

"I'll go alone. I've taken these exams once, I can do it again. No matter if I'm alone, I can make it through." She declared, head held high. She smiled at the awed look on Lee's face, TenTen looked slightly worried, Neji was being an emotionless ice cube again. Gai smiled at his newest student, and she blinked.

I'm not really alone, now am I?

'Of course not.' Brokenfang growled.

'They think you'll go down easy, being alone. Too bad Brokenfang and I are here.' Graystar growled.

I like it better this way. Now I don't have to constantly worry about my team being in danger.

Gai cleared his throat, looking his team over. Lee was smiling happily, TenTen fussing with her throwing weapons, and Neji staring moodily at the sky.

"Today will be spent preparing you for the exams! Neji, Lee, TenTen. You guys will be a team. Crystal is alone. I'm doing this to symbolize the tests. I will give each team one colored kunai. Your goal? Capture the kunai in your opponent's hand. Any questions?" All the ninja shook their heads.

"Alright…Ready…Steady…GO!" Four blurs launched away, into the tree cover. Gai stood still watching, listening, waiting.

Neji and his group came to a rest in a small clearing to form a plan. Crystal was planning too, only her companions lived in her soul and spoke in her mind. Soon both teams had a plan that was ready to be put into action. TenTen strung a nearly invisible thread around the clearing, creating a web of trip cords. If the line was moved, a large amount of practice kunai and other projectiles would fly. Lee crouched in a tree, setting the second part up. If their target somehow got through the rigged web, he was ready to drop down and use his Taijutsu to wind his target. Neji was in a hollowed out log, near the center of the clearing. If TenTen's traps and her target skill failed, if Lee was somehow taken out, he would be ready with his Byakugan and attacks. He'd forgotten that Crystal had the very same Kekki Genkai, and a couple years more experience with it as well. Crystal's plan was simple. Graystar would heighten her sense of smell and hearing, Brokenfang would enhance her speed and eye sight. Using only her senses, Crystal would locate the other ninja, and sneak up on them. Then she's activate her Byakugan and look for traps, and try to block Neji's chakra points. Crystal knew that Neji was the one she had to worry about, Lee's Taijutsu could be avoided and fought back against, a well-used Wind Jutsu would disable TenTen's weapons. But if she and Neji had to fight, head to head, hand to hand, only Kami could tell what would happen…Silently, Crystal jumped into the leaves of a nearby tree, searching for the scent of her opponents, looking for a glimpse of them, listening for anything that could betray their locations. Crystal steadied herself in the leaves. She'd wait a while, hoping that a careless movement could help her.

Gai smiled, he knew the kind of plan that his three would come up with. But Crystal…He had no idea how she thought, nor did he know how well she could plan strategies. He leaned against a tree, stretching happily. It couldn't be a more youthful day for being a ninja…

TenTen glanced at Lee, who looked down at Neji. The unspoken question hung in the tension-filled air. What now? Lee shifted himself into a seated position on his tree limb, Neji activated his Bloodline, searching for his sister. Crystal, meanwhile was laying jaguar-style on a branch. She let her arms and legs dangle, knowing she couldn't be seen. Closing her eyes, she listened once again for the others, and pulled in deep draughts of air, searching for their scent. She was also on the alert for chakra, if some vanished, or showed up; she'd know where to go.

TenTen sighed very quietly, closing her eyes; while Neji was glaring at Lee. Lee was trying not to sneeze, and TenTen's eyes went wide when she realized what was going on, then smirked. Neji looked at her questioningly. TenTen locked her eyes on Neji as she tried to convey her meaning. _If he sneezes, the sound will draw her here, straight into the traps!_ Neji scowled as he tried to think over the idea. _It may work…But…_ He glanced at TenTen. _Very well…_ TenTen smiled, looked at Lee, and nodded. Lee blinked, then sneezed, VERY loudly.

Crystal heard the sneeze, after the quiet she had been in, it sounded like an explosion. She started, nearly falling off her branch. Now I know where they are. She yawned and pulled herself up, leaping through the trees. Soon she could see the form of Lee crouched on a tree. Smirking, Crystal created four clones. One walked into the trap made by TenTen, another would draw Lee over to one side, and the other two would appear with the real Cyrstal to battle Neji and keep an eye on TenTen and her weapons.

Sure enough, the trap sprung, projectiles made the clone explode, Lee caused the other to explode, and the three Crystal's appeared in the middle of the clearing. Neji activated his Byakugan, staring through the clone and real girl. Damn, she's made each one look real… He snarled to himself. TenTen nailed a clone with a practice kunai, it exploded. Crystal's Byakugan snapped into action, seeking out and blocking the chakra points in Neji's arms. Lee spun at her from behind, hit the other clone and it exploded. Crystal glanced at TenTen, and sent a Wind Jutsu to knock the weapons flying at her away. Then Crystal ducked under Lee's kick and began to fight back. Soon all four ninja in the clearing were panting. How is she putting up such a fight… Neji, Lee, and TenTen thought. shoot, they're tougher than I thought… Crystal sighed. She spun into rotation as a cloud of practice weapons and Lee came at her. The weapons clattered to the ground and Lee crashed into a bush, where he lay panting. Now it was down to Crystal and Neji. Byakugan against Byakugan, brother against sister. For the longest time, neither moved. Then Neji and Crystal sunk into the battle ready form from the Hyuga clan. They locked eyes and glared.

Then they fought. The bursts of chakra they were flinging at each other as they blocked the other's hands was enough to create a small wind around them. Crystal whipped practice kunai at Neji, who spun them away and retaliated with kunai.

Some Time Later

Gai glanced up as his battle weary students came limping toward him. He stared at them, trying to see who had what and if they had gotten both kunai.

"Well, how did it go? Who's got the blue kunai?" He hollered. Neji held it up.

I guess Crystal can't handle being alone after all…

"And who has the red?" He was expecting Lee or TenTen to hold it up. Crystal sighed and swung it around on her pointer finger. Or…Not…

"We switched the kunai during our fighting.." TenTen laughed. Neji closed his eyes, Lee began running around, and Crystal smiled a little. The joys of being a ninja… Was the thought of the Genin. Gai smiled happily.

"I suggest you all get so rest, the Chuunin Exams are only a week away. Take the week to do whatever you need, rest, practice. Meet here the day before the exams." Gai said and charged off. Neji and Crystal waved goodbye to Lee and TenTen and began walking toward the Hyuga Compound.

"You've improved a great deal, Neji." Crystal said, glancing sideways at her brother.

"Yeah…Maybe…You fought really good." He mumbled, staring straight ahead.

"I think Uncle Hiashi is waiting for you. The tone Neji said his uncle's name in suggested that Neji would like to bap his uncle over the head a couple hundred times. Crystal looked forward and growl-sighed.

I guess he's gonna fight me to see where my strength lies now… She thought and closed her eyes.

"Uncle Hiashi, how nice it is to see you again!" She said, cheerfully, smiling up at him. He merely stared down at her.

"I want to test your strength. Now. I do not care what you've been doing today. Come."


End file.
